mileage

[highbury]

I have just purchased an E270 2003 with 116k on the clock it has full MB service history how many miles would you expect to get from the engine if it is serviced by MB as required

 

[television]

Welcome to the forum, these engines should go 250k plus. You do not have to use MB for service, there are plenty of indies out there that do a good job for half the price. The most important thing is the engine oil, its also the cheapest thing to change.

Malcolm

 

[highbury]

thankyou for your help

 

[Sprint'n'Go]

how many miles would you expect to get from the engine if it is serviced by MB as required

My 2.7ltr 5cyl CDI engine failed prematurely at 100k due to a failed conrod (most people have concluded that it was 'just one of those things') However when it was partialy dismantled there was no visible wear to the piston bores, the factory honing marks were untouched even at 100k. This would seem to indicate that even Malcolms estimate could be conservative depending on the type of use. I would expect that with good servicing and decent long runs the main engine components (crank/pistons/valves) should go to 400k but you would probably find that the fueling system would show faults first, definitely with the injectors and probably the fuel pump also.

Do not automatically assume that main dealer servicing is the best. I had a disagreement with my dealer after they failed to change the oil at the second service and after a couple of weeks wrangling they accepted my arguement and did the work required (I watched them do it). I think If you really want to be sure then the only option is to do it yourself. This way you can be certain that all the filters have been changed and that the right oil has been used. After the above fiasco I withdrew from dealer servicing and went down the diy route. The benefits are three fold- 1, satisfaction of maintaining your own vehicle 2, removal of all doubt about what work has been done 3, cheaper, even with genuine parts and also Mobil 1 oil at about £75 per service.

If you read the service schedule for your car you will find that, apart from the oil change, a large part of the routine is check this and check that. In other words, look at it and tick the box to prove you have looked at it. You don't have to be a genius to know that oil isn't pouring out of the gearbox and the exhaust isn't falling out of its mounts etc...

 

[Parrot of Doom]

My car was serviced by a main dealer every 15k. This was before I bought it.

Upon reading the maintainance book (and the stamps), I discovered that they hadn't changed the air filter in 45 000 miles.

Trust me, dealer servicing isn't a guarantee of quality.

 

[jberks]

They seem to 'rotate' them a lot from what I can tell. Mine has done 32k and has had the filter rotated a couple of times but not changed as yet. Given that it's rectangular and presumably rotate doesn't mean 'turn over and let all the crap you've collected fly into the MAS', it must be back to the original way round again. - All very confusing.

 

[Myros]

our C280 was a one owner, FMBSH when we bought it

5 years ago. The first thing I did after we got it home was drive it past our local dealers and tell it that it was never going in there if I could help it. The car had been serviced on or ahead of schedule religiously by the previous owner, and was given another service before we took delivery. When my mechie inspected it, the air filter too had seen better days, the brake fluid hadn't been done in 2 years according to label on the reservoir, and the brake discs were on their last legs. The pollen filter hadn't been touched in 7 years, and was like the inside of a coal mine. The transmission oil and diff oil hadn't even been checked, as when my chap came to look at them, they still had their original factory sealing paint on them. Ok, they hadn't actually leaked, but I wouldn't have minded seeing some fresh oily fingerprints down there. It did come with a 12 month all points except tyres guarantee, and that's probably what sold it to me.
I think a lot of the time the dealers just hope that we won't notice or understand all the stuff they are supposed to do, and just concentrate on the problem that we came to them with, and its probably expensive solution.